Diverge from Destiny
by Kitkat0114
Summary: When Dean was four, an angel from Heaven was sent to protect him and Sammy and steer them onto the right path. Now Dean's 23 and that same angel's been brought back to him, but it's Dean's turn to play protector as the angels and demons try to trigger Armageddon.
1. The Road So Far

**A/N: Here it is, guys! This is the sequel to Plan B, so if you haven't read that one, I strongly recommend you go read it first before jumping into this one. For those of you who have, I hope I live up to your expectations! I've been plotting this sequel since I wrote chapter 2 of Plan B, so hopefully that all pays off. Now for some disclaimery stuff, warnings, and all that jazz. You can skip if you don't care.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, I don't own any of the characters in Supernatural. I wish I did, but if I did Supernatural would probably turn into "The Story of Three Dudes Who Sit In an Old Bunker and Drink Lot's of Hot Chocolate" yep, yeah, mm-hm.**

**Warnings: So far, none. It's pretty clean, if you spot something I should warn about, lemme know.**

**Summary: When Dean was four, an angel from Heaven was sent to protect him and Sammy. Now Dean's 22 and that same angel's been brought back to him, but it's Dean's turn to play protector as the angels and demons try to trigger Armageddon. **

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When he was little, maybe four or five, Dean remembers meeting an angel. The angel was little, like him, had dark hair and blue eyes and a kind voice. He remembers the angel keeping him safe, holding his hand and promising that he would protect him even when things were very scary. He remembers that he helped the angel too. He held the angels hand, and rubbed his back and promised to keep him safe too. The angel's name was Castiel.

When he was little, Dean remembers meeting an archangel too. He was the little angel's big brother and he watched over them when his daddy couldn't. He remembers the archangel giving him advice, and caring for Sammy, and keeping his father in line. The archangel's name was Gabriel, but he also went by Loki or the Trickster. Dean didn't understand until later why an archangel would need so many different names.

When he was little, Dean remembers Castiel being taken away and Gabriel leaving them and not understanding the true reasons why. He wouldn't fully understand until he saw Gabriel again, when he was ten and Sammy was six and they'd run away from home to look for Castiel and they were surrounded by men with black eyes, scary smiles and knives. Gabriel found them then, saved them, brought them home and explained why he couldn't find Castiel and why Gabriel had left. He didn't tell Bobby or Daddy where they had gone and he erased their adventure from Sammy's memories.

Daddy kept them out of the hunts and made them go to school. He also wouldn't tell Sammy about all the monsters that Dean knew existed. The ones he knew his father went out to kill when he told Sammy he was going on a business trip. They usually stayed with Uncle Bobby when Daddy went on one of his trips. Sam would always whine and complain until he got home, but Dean didn't mind. He wanted Daddy to come home too.

When he graduated high school, Dean saw Gabriel in the crowd. He smiled and threw him a thumbs up and then vanished. Dean saw Gabriel many times after that, out of the corner of his eye, now that he knew to look. It made him feel better; he and Sammy had a guardian angel while Castiel was away.

He missed Castiel. Dean couldn't remember a time when he didn't miss Castiel. He missed Castiel like he missed his mother, like he missed when Dad used to smile at him. He prayed to him every night and told him that. Told him that he hoped to he'd come home soon and to say hi to his mother for him. There wasn't anyone to judge him, his dad wouldn't complain at him for something he never saw, so Dean prayed often.

Sammy was eighteen and Dean was twenty-two when they were approached by a tall, blonde man wearing a v-neck and skin tight jeans on their way home from Dean's mechanic job. One minute he wasn't there and the next he was, Dean automatically thought 'angel' and tensed, ready. The man only smirked and handed Dean a note before vanishing into thin air. Sam didn't stop freaking out about it until two months later. Dean didn't care, the note was from Gabriel and only had five words on it.

"I'm going to get Cas."

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**TBC...**

**(Let me know what you think! Reviews are very important feedback and they may help me update faster! and by may, I mean will. Seriously, what better motivation is there than expectant readers?)**


	2. Sudden and Unexpected

**A/N: Hello! Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, and everything else! Here's another chapter. Just FYI, they'll be a bit short for a bit and then they should get a bit longer.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to tell me what you think!**

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On Dean's twenty-third birthday, he woke up and went to work, after, of course, he received a call from Bobby congratulating him on not dying for another year, and three voice messages from Sam singing to him with Jess. Dean liked Jess, she was good for Sammy and she was just a plain good woman. He just wished they'd stop dancing around each other and go out. It was sickening how shy Sam was around her.

Dean arrived at work on time and began working on one of the first cars of the day. It was simple, just an oil change and he rolled his eyes at the businessman who had brought it in and told him to be careful with the interior. He wasn't even going to touch the interior. Where did this man think the oil was, in the glove compartment?

After that particularly annoying encounter, business was slow, it was always slow on weekdays, but with the note still weighing heavily in his mind, everything just seemed to drag on. He could feel something was going on today, maybe it was the weather, or the way the back of his neck tingled when he turned his back to the window. He didn't know why, but he could feel it.

Around noon, the same blonde man that had handed him the note appeared outside the garage and sat on the bench in front of the window. Dean continued to take costumers and stick his head in the engines, but he did so distractedly. The blonde man didn't do anything, he just sat on the bench and watched as people walked by.

Finally, the shop was closing and his shift was over and Dean ran out to the front, only to find the man was gone. He walked a few blocks in both directions, searching for any signs of where the man had gone, but found none. He sighed, dejected. Maybe the man had just been his imagination or wishful thinking. He turned to walk back to the shop, shoulders slumped.

"Looking for me?" a British voice asked from behind. Dean jumped and turned to see the man who had been sitting on the bench, standing behind him. He approached Dean, who tensed despite himself and even backed away a few steps. The man grabbed him by the arm and jerked him close. "I want you to head straight home, do not stop anywhere and follow the instructions on this paper." Dean could feel the man slip something into his pocket. "Follow them down to the letter and you might not mess this up." Then the man was gone. Dean would never admit it, but he ran home.

He half expected to see someone there when he opened the door, but was relieved to find his apartment empty. After locking the door behind him, Dean fished the paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. There were symbols scrawled in ink across the top of the paper and a note underneath. "Write these on the walls. Line the door and windows with salt. Don't call anyone or answer your phone. Unplug your T.V. and radio." It didn't say who is was from, but it was in the same handwriting he'd seen on Gabriel's other note, so he followed the directions carefully. Luckily he already knew half of the symbols on the note, thanks to Bobby's careful coaching.

Dean didn't sleep that night. He sat, shoulders stiff, on his sofa in his apartment, sawed off shotgun in one hand and a book in the other, reading silently. He knew that a shotgun full of rock salt was probably not going to do him much good, but John had the only angel blade. Hopefully he was actually getting Cas back and not setting himself up to get screwed.

Dean was snapped out of his light dozing when there was a knock on his door. When had he fallen asleep? He jerked upward from his slumped position, eyes locking with the door. He pulled his shotgun close and crept to it, peeking out through the peep hole to see none other than Gabriel standing there looking thoroughly disheveled with someone or something slung over his shoulder. It was hard to tell, as it was covered with dark colored fabric. Dean's heart jumped into his throat and he tugged open the door.

"Hey, Dean." Gabriel said shakily, letting himself in. Dean moved out of the way as he pulled the something in with him and deposited it on the couch. He turned to Dean who was in the process of locking the door. "I got him." he said simply with a grin and then vanished.

Dean didn't need any other words though, he rushed to the cloaked figure on his couch and tugged the fabric away, revealing a sleeping or unconscious, dark haired man. Dean leaned in close, examining the man's face. He had aged, but this was definitely Cas. From the disheveled hair, to the slight droop of his eyes, to the shape of his chin, Dean knew without a doubt this was Castiel, the angel from his childhood, his protector. In awe, Dean placed his hands on either side of Castiel's face and placed his forehead to Cas'.

"Come on, Cas… Time to wake up." Dean whispered. He could feel the breath from Cas' nose rush softly against his skin. "Cas," he called. When Castiel didn't respond, Dean sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "On second thought, I'm glad you didn't wake up with that. You're not a Disney princess..." he muttered. Instead, he hazarded a few small slaps to Cas' cheek, but the angel didn't stir, seemingly in a deep, peaceful sleep. Dean knew from when they were children, that sometimes Castiel slept and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wake him up. It was usually when Castiel was super tired from protecting him. So Dean let him sleep, maybe Castiel had to expend a lot of energy to escape. He stared at him for a while, completely mesmorized by the sudden appearance of his childhood protector. It seemed angels had a habit of appearing suddenly and unexpectedly.

He stood from his place beside the couch, casually realizing how creepy that had just been and deciding to tell no one, even under the worst torture that he had done it and meandered his way to the bedroom. He stubbed his toe absently on an end table, making a shout, but Castiel didn't seem to notice, still sleeping away. He returned a few minutes later with a bundle full of blankets and pillows. He shoved one pillow under Castiel's head, his couch wasn't the softest thing in the world, and then gave him an extra blanket, before making a bed next to the angel on the floor. He didn't plan to sleep, oh no, he had to watch over Cas, but that didn't mean he couldn't be comfortable. He gathered his book from the coffee table and started reading again, listening to the soft sounds of Castiel's deep breathing and feeling safer and warmer than he had since Castiel had first left.

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**TBC...**


	3. Home Again

**A/N: As always, thank you for all your reads, reviews, follows and favorites! This is a slightly longer chapter, I'm working on getting them to be substantially longer, but it'll be difficult before I get the story really rolling, so bear with me.**

**Please enjoy!**

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Castiel gradually surfaced into consciousness to the feeling of being watched. He could sense another being with him, another soul. It was a human. He kept his eyes closed; a human wouldn't know the difference. After a few minutes of feeling the other soul, Castiel realize he recognized this human. He remembered a child, with green eyes and brilliant smile. He remembered the child's name was Dean Winchester. As the name echoed through his consciousness, he snapped his eyes open to see a soft, white ceiling and a figure out of the corner of his eye.

"You're awake!" he heard the human, Dean Winchester, say. Castiel moved his eyes to see Dean, the body had aged, but the soul was much the same. This was not how he was supposed to meet Dean. Dean was supposed to be in Hell, suffering. Castiel snapped up from his prone position and scrambled away. Dean gave a shout of protest and cursed, but Castiel didn't care. He spread his wings, every intention to fly away and report back to Michael. Michael would kill Dean and Sammy if he didn't report back. He had to protect Dean and Sammy. He panicked when he felt something was blocking his flight. He couldn't get out. Dean was approaching him cautiously, hands outstretched, posture small and nonthreatening. Castiel immediately stumbled away from him.

"I shouldn't be here." Castiel stated, anger and frustration coloring his voice. "Why am I here? Why are you here?" he demanded. He backed into a chair, knocking it over. The clatter made Dean stop and shoot him a confused look.

"This is my apartment, Cas…" he said absently.

Castiel stopped and observed the room, truly seeing it for the first time. It was small, but not cramped and filled with minimal furniture. He then turned his eyes to Dean and stared for a long moment. "This is wrong… Not until… It's against the plan…" he finally said. How long had it been since he had left them? Why had he left them? Castiel didn't know. His memories were a mess of jumbled phrases and panic. He could remember only bits and pieces of Dean as a child, speaking to him, laughing, holding Sammy, Michael looming over him, threatening, telling him the plan over and over and over again.

"_If you don't obey, Castiel, I'll kill them. I'll kill Dean and Samuel. You know I can, Castiel. Now…" _

But he needed Dean for the plan, didn't he? Why would he kill Dean? Castiel's eyes widened. "Dean, Michael lied." he told the man, his friend, Dean Winchester. Michael had lied to him. He couldn't kill Dean Winchester. What else had he lied about? Gabriel's betrayal? His mission? His head hurt.

"You doing alright there, Cas?" Dean asked hesitantly. He was closer now, a little more adventurous. "Your nose is bleeding, buddy." he said, finally within touching distance of Castiel.

Cas absently pulled his hands up to touch his nose, bringing them back to look at them. They were indeed covered in dark red blood, his vessel's blood. When had he gotten into a vessel? His mind supplied a name, history, and an age. He remembered speaking to a little boy named Jimmy with blue eyes, messy hair and a pure heart. He had said yes._  
_

Dean was upon him now, tissue to his nose to staunch the blood flow. "Wanna tell me what's going on, Cas?" he asked, impatience and worry seeping off of him. Castiel shook his head, dislodging Dean's hand from his nose.

"I don't know," he said, voice nasally as Dean plastered his hand and the tissue once more to Castiel's face. "I can't remember. It's very scattered." he looked to Dean helplessly.

"Son of bitch." Dean cursed under his breath, pausing to replace the tissue.

"I remember that you shouldn't curse." Castiel commented, glaring up at Dean.

"I'm twenty-three, Cas." Dean said, raising an eyebrow. Castiel didn't say anything, slowly processing the information.

"You were a child when I last saw you." Castiel stated after a few moments of contemplation. "Why are you an adult now?" he asked, honestly confused. "Your soul is unblemished."

"That's what happens to people over time, Cas, they grow." Dean said in explanation. "You grew too."

"I was not supposed to meet you until you were in Hell." Castiel said absently, staring into Dean's green eyes and looking past them into his soul. There were no blemishes of Hell, his soul was pristine. "Why do I remember you as a child?"

Dean flinched and stood back, staring hard into Castiel's eyes. Castiel wondered why he could see him, why he could stand the sight of his true form, before remembering he was in a vessel. The confining feeling was familiar, but he'd never been in a vessel before. Or had he? He had known Dean as a child, and he had been in this vessel in the late years of fledglinghood. His Father had sent him on a mission. "I have to protect you." Castiel said seriously.

"Castiel, man, you're freaking me out." Dean said finally. He turned like he was going to leave, but Castiel grabbed him. "Cas, I'm not going anywhere, just to throw these away." He showed Castiel the bloodied tissues. Castiel let him go, but followed him over to the trash. "Tell me what you remember, Cas."

"You…" Castiel began. "Sammy. We traveled together?" He allowed Dean to lead him back to the couch and sit him down. Dean sat down heavily next to him. "Father sent me to protect you, but I left you… Michael says it's part of the plan. I'm not supposed to know you. I don't know you." Castiel lost himself has he continued rambling. "Gabriel betrayed us. He took me away, tried to sabotage the plan. No," Castiel rubbed his forehead. "Father sent me. Father sent me and Gabriel helped."

Dean was looking at him now with a mixture of shock and concern. "Cas, buddy, you came to us. You said you had to keep us safe. Michael took you away in exchange for my dad." Castiel nodded, the pieces clicking together.

"Michael lied to me, Dean." Castiel said, distraught. "He told me that Gabriel took me away, that you didn't need protecting. He told me that he'd kill you if I left." He wrapped his arms around Dean's neck and leaned into him. A hug, if he remembered correctly. Dean stiffened, but didn't push him away, and after a few moments, rubbed his back softly.

"It's alright, Cas. I'm alright. Michael lied, that bastard. We'll figure everything out, okay?" he pulled Castiel away from him and looked into his eyes. "I'm glad to have you back, Cas."

Castiel nodded, straightening a bit. "Where is this place?" he asked, after a moment of contemplation. He had many questions, but he supposed his current location should take precedence.

"Oh, this is my apartment, in Stanford." Dean said. "Sammy goes to a college here, and I work at a machine shop." he explained. Castiel felt a jolt of joy, though he couldn't explain why. Dean hadn't been hunting, and he sounded happy and proud. Sammy was going to college.

"Where is your father… and the other man?" Castiel asked. He distinctly remembered there being two adults that accompanied them for most of their journey. If that was what it was they were doing.

"You mean Bobby?" Dean asked and after a moment Castiel nodded. "Well, Bobby's back at his house, he's doing hunter consultation stuff and Dad's on a hunt to find the Azazel." he said. His expression darkened when he said Azazel, and Castiel found that he knew why.

"The demon that killed your mother." Castiel stated. "You mustn't let your father chase after that creature any longer," Castiel warned urgently, straightening now. "He seeks to keep Michael's plan in motion and will kill your father in order to get to you."

"Yeah, Bobby said something like that, but Dad didn't listen." Dean said with a frown. "So you've been in Heaven the whole time?"

"Yes." Castiel replied easily, he cocked his head. "Michael oversaw my… reeducation. I was not allowed near the others anymore." he said this with more sadness than he intended, and it elicited a pat on the shoulder from Dean. "Dean, what do I do now?"

"Shit, Cas, I don't know…" Dean rubbed the back of his neck. 'Stay with me?' was what he wanted to say, but maybe that was a bit too much. Cas barely remembered him. "You still tired?" he asked instead, noting the way Castiel drooped back into the couch.

"I don't need to sleep." Castiel snapped, almost defensively and he straightened. Dean backed off a bit.

"You don't have to sleep." Dean said quickly. "Maybe I can put a movie on?"

"Movie?" Castiel asked curiously. Dean nodded and stood, Castiel standing with him. "You can stay there, you know. I'm just going to go grab something from the shelf." He used his thumb to point at the black painted, wooden shelf that was stuffed with books and movies. "Have any preference for what you want to watch?" he asked as Castiel sat back down.

"No." Castiel answered. He was tracking Dean's path to the bookshelf with his eyes, eerily.

"You remember watching movies, right Cas? Or T.V.?" Dean asked, browsing the shelf. He really needed to alphabetize the DVDs, they were all over the place.

"I remember watching things on a device like that one." Castiel said, Dean hoped he was pointing to the T.V. He couldn't really tell, his back was to the confused angel. After a bit of debating, he settled on a western. It probably wasn't the one that they watched with Gabriel all those years ago, but it would do. Maybe it would jog his memory, or at least calm him down.

He stood and made a detour over to the television to pop the DVD in. A quick glance at Castiel showed him that the angel was still watching him, like he couldn't believe Dean was there. Once the DVD was in and the pre-menu credits began to play, he headed back over to Cas, snagging the remote from the coffee table before settling next to his childhood friend. The movie began to play and Castiel directed his attention to the television screen, completely enraptured by the moving images.

Dean took a moment just to watch Castiel. He was back. Gabriel had gotten him back, just like he said he would. Sure, Castiel seemed a bit… damaged, but Dean would take anything he could get. As he watched Castiel take in the images and sound from the screen, eyes wide and curious, he felt a fierce protectiveness over the angel. Gabriel had gotten Castiel back and Dean wouldn't let anyone or anything take him away again.

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**TBC...**


	4. All Night Movie Marathon

**A/N: I am ashamed to say that this chapter has been done for several days, but I haven't been able to work up the energy needed to edit it. A big thank you to everyone who wrote a review, followed, or favorited! Your feedback is appreciated!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The plot should start really picking up here in a few chapters (and hopefully the chapters will get longer)**

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True to his word, Castiel did not sleep at all during their impromptu movie marathon. Dean, being only human, ended up dozing off several times, only to be jolted awake by Castiel commenting on the film they were watching or letting him know it was over. After watching the generic Western Dean had on DVD, they also watched the first two Jurassic Park movies and were beginning the first Star Wars when Dean had to pause it to call in sick at work. His boss would understand, especially since Dean hadn't taken a sick day since he had begun working at the shop.

"You do not have to adjust your activities for me, Dean." Castiel said when Dean had hung up. He was showing more emotion than Dean had seen in their time watching movies together, a tiny frown set on his face. "I… I will not leave while you are gone." he added after a pause.

"Cas, it's got nothing to do with that. I finally have you back after forever. Of course I'm going to take the day off." Dean said. He flopped back down on the couch and slapped Cas on the back. In truth, it hurt his hand more than it probably hurt Cas, the dude was a brick wall. "You hungry?" Dean said after Castiel had turned his attention back to the screen.

"I don't need to eat." Castiel replied simply. Dean sighed.

"I remember you needing to eat, Cas." Dean said, getting tired of Cas' insistence on not needing to do things.

"I don't." Castiel said. His voice didn't inflect any emotion, but it still made Dean's heart sink.

"Sorry, Cas." Dean muttered, turning the movie back on and wondering into the kitchen. He could at least cook something for himself. He also needed some time alone. Having Castiel back was nice, but it was disappointing that he didn't remember much. Dean felt like he was walking on eggshells. He turned from having his upper half buried in the fridge to find Castiel three inches from his face and looking at him quizzically. Dean totally didn't yelp in surprise and if he did, it was a very manly yelp. "God, Cas! What?" Dean asked once he had recovered, backing away to give him slightly more room. To his dismay, Castiel only stepped closer, narrowing his blue eyes.

"You seem…" The angel's frown deepened. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, I'm hungry." Dean lied feebly. Castiel got closer to him, crowding him into the fridge.

"I know when you are lying, Dean." the angel said, blue eyes flashing. It was an intimidation tactic, and Dean wasn't going to be frightened into sharing. He stared Castiel down, stepping forward in an effort to get him to back off.

"I'm not lying, Cas." Dean said dangerously. "I'm hungry, and if you'd get outta my way, I'll go and make something to fix that." Castiel continued to frown, but thankfully backed off. He seemed to deflate slightly as Dean busied himself with gathering the things needed to make scrambled eggs. "You want some, Cas?" he asked, placing a skillet on the stove top and throwing some butter into it. When the angel didn't reply to his inquiry, he turned to look at him curiously. Castiel was merely standing there, looking distant. His eyes flicked to Dean's, apparently sensing the attention.

"Is it because I don't remember?" Castiel asked after a moment more of staring. Dean looked away, turning his attention to the eggs. He cracked a couple and put them in the pan. He'd ordinarily whip them and add milk, but that required walking past Cas to get a bowl.

Dean huffed, trying to buy more time. "I… no… yeah. A little?" he pushed the eggs around in the skillet with his spatula, avoiding Castiel's gaze. It didn't really matter; he could still feel it burning into him. "We… uh… went through a lot, so it's hard that you don't remember."

"You mean it is disappointing?" Castiel asked. Dean shrugged unhelpfully. "I apologize." came Castiel's stoic reply a few moments later.

"Not your fault." Dean replied stiffly. "No big deal. It was a long time ago." he forced himself to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat.

It was Castiel who sighed this time, but relented, returning to the living room, but not before requesting eggs for himself.

"Thought you didn't eat, Cas." Dean called after him. He could just barely make out a small smile on Castiel's face.

"It doesn't mean that I cannot." the angel replied, settling down onto his place on the couch. "Perhaps eating will help me regain more memories." Well, Dean couldn't argue with that logic.

Balthazar touched down just outside a secluded, mountain cabin. He carefully checked around himself for tailors before easing the door open. It was dark, and deceptively empty. It looked as if no one had lived in it for many years, but Balthazar knew better. A thought banished the illusion and suddenly all the dust was wiped away from the floors and windows and the furniture seemed to appear from nowhere. The lights took a minute to flicker on, but that was just a result of old wiring.

"Gabriel!" he called before venturing inside further. "It's Balthazar, your top spy and favorite brother."

"You're not my favorite!" Gabriel replied, appearing suddenly beside Balthazar and punching him playfully in the shoulder. Balthazar pushed the, now much shorter, angel away from him.

"I better be. Do you know how much I'm risking my neck for your sake?" Balthazar said, though there wasn't any real venom in his voice.

"It's not for me, it's for Cas!" Gabriel deflected. He walked away from Balthazar and plonked himself onto the most cushioned recliner in the room. Balthazar sat across from him. "What's the news? They getting along?" he asked, once he had sat down.

"As expected, they are having their moments, but yes." Balthazar reported. He sighed, steepling his fingers. "Castiel remembers very little, if anything at all of his time with the Winchesters. Dean has taken it upon himself to remind him."

"Well, at least he didn't chuck him out." Gabriel reasoned.

"Do you honestly believe he would do that?" Balthazar asked seriously, raising an eyebrow. "Because if that is the case, I'll be taking Cassy." he threatened. Gabriel laughed.

"Nah, Dean might have in another lifetime, but now he reveres Cas too much. As long as he doesn't kill anyone, Cas is safe." Balthazar seemed unconvinced, but relented.

"Do you want me to keep watching them?" Balthazar asked then.

"No, let them be. Go check on Michael, see what he's up to." Gabriel said. He smirked. "He's probably so pissed right now. Wish I could see it."

"You still feeling a bit… under the weather?" Balthazar asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Yeah, but getting better." Gabriel said, rubbing his side gingerly. "Getting Cas set me back, but it was worth it." He grinned with satisfaction. "I'll go check on them later. I wanna give them a chance to adjust before I crash their party."

Balthazar rolled his eyes and stood. "Well, I should be getting back to Michael. I have to tell him that you and Castiel shook me around Sweden." He brushed imaginary dust from his suit jacket and exited the house before vanishing, leaving Gabriel to his thoughts.

Dean was shaken from his comfortable doze, not by Castiel making a deadpanned comment or urging for another movie, but by his phone ringing, oddly enough. He came fully awake with a snort, groping for the tiny, Razr flip phone before Castiel helpfully slipped it into his hands. He flicked it open and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his bleary eyes. The credits of the movie they had been watching, or rather, Castiel had been watching, were playing.

"Hey, Dean." Sammy's voice floated through the phone. "Jess and I went to take you to lunch today at work and you weren't there. The manager said you called in sick. Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, I uh…" he looked over at Castiel, wondering if he should break the news of Castiel's return to Sam. The kid didn't even remember the angel and it didn't seem like Cas remembered much of Sam either. "I have a bit of a… er… cough." he said lamely.

"Really, Dean?" Sam sounded unconvinced.

"Yeah, really!" Dean replied indignantly. "What? I can't get sick anymore? Not everyone's impervious to disease like your giant ass is, Sam." he deflected aggressively, hoping to draw Sam's attention away from the fact he took a day off.

It seemed to work, as the line was filled with static from Sam's exasperated sigh. "Alright. Alright, Dean. You don't need to get hostile. I'll leave you alone. I just wanted to ask if you were going to be at work tomorrow." Sam said, changing the subject to avoid anymore of Dean's lectures or rants.

"Yeah, sure. Why? Are you dying to buy me lunch, Sammy? I thought you had a girlfriend." Dean teased easily.

"Shut up." Sam replied. "Jess and I just have an announcement and she wants to make it special. Like I'd ever want to pay to see your fat ass grow fatter." he retorted, full of snark.

Dean choked. He wasn't fat!

"Anyway," Sam cut in before Dean could launch into a tirade. "You'll be at work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Sam." Dean affirmed fondly. "I… uh… may have an announcement of my own to make too." Dean said, casting a glance at Cas, who he then made eye contact with and then proceeded to have a several second long staring match with. His attention was unfortunately pulled away by Sam's next comment.

"Did you get someone pregnant?"

"What?! No! Screwing up is your area of expertise, bitch!" Dean shouted incredulously.

"Whatever, jerk." Sam shot back quickly. There was a pause where someone else's voice, a faint female voice could be heard over the phone. "Well, Dean, I gotta go. See you tomorrow!"

"Yup." Dean said, trying not to sound nervous. He hung up and flipped the phone shut, turning to Cas. The angel was still staring at him.

"I got something on my face, Cas?" he asked. Castiel's eyes narrowed, but he otherwise ignored the question.

"That was Samuel… Sammy." Castiel said after a moment's pause.

"Yeah. He's my brother." Dean said. "He wants me to go to lunch with them tomorrow."

"Them." Castiel stated rather than asked, as if affirming something.

Dean's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Sam's got a girlfriend now."

"Sam is a baby." Castiel stated. He was no longer looking at Dean, but at the coffee table.

Dean laughed, trying to brush off Castiel's slip. "It really feels like that sometimes. As much as he acts like a little bitch, he's actually nineteen now."

"Nineteen." Castiel echoed.

"Yeah, Cas. You missed a lot." Dean said.

Castiel looked down, clasping his hands. "I apologize." he said quietly. "It was my mission to protect you. I failed."

"It wasn't your fault, Cas." Dean said, patting the angel on the shoulder. This was getting way too into a chick flick type moment for his liking. "We were good while you were gone."

"Regardless. I apologize." Castiel insisted.

"You don't have to apologize, Cas. We were good. Dad did what he was supposed to and the only time Sam and I got into trouble was when we were being morons."

Castiel didn't look up from his hands, but he didn't look convinced, still staring dejectedly at his hands.

"Hey, how about I get another movie put in and then get us some popcorn?" Dean asked instead, drawing Castiel's attention.

"Popcorn?" the angel asked curiously.

"Yeah, you'll love it." Dean assured, giving the angel one more pat on the shoulder before he got up from the couch.

* * *

**TBC...**


	5. Big Announcements

**A/N: Alright, here is another chapter. As promised, it is a tad longer than the others have been.**

**Thank you for reviews, follows and favorites! And please keep them coming, it's really fun to read what you have to say. (And I don't have any of this story written in advance, so it speeds up writing a bit too.)**

**Enjoy!**

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Dean actually slept on his second night with Cas. Cas, once again, did not sleep, but Dean taught him how to work the DVD player, the television and showed him all of the books he owned in the hopes that the angel could keep himself entertained. It seemed Dean was quite the book and movie enthusiast, having an entirely too large collection for someone who worked during the day.

The human retired to bed at around ten thirty in the evening, muttering a good night to Cas before his bedroom door slid shut. Castiel waited a while for Dean to fall asleep, before deciding to turn on the television. He eventually settled on watching programming Dean called 'cartoons,' little drawings played in succession to mimic movement. It was fascinating and familiar, so Cas settled down to watch. The only thing Castiel found that he didn't particularly like were commercials; they were boring and advertised things that Castiel had no interest in, like hair growth products and fancy gloves to keep one's hands from burning. Eventually the cartoons ended, making way for some television show about some particular family living together. Castiel soon switched channels after finding that he didn't understand any of the things that were supposedly funny. He ended up opting to shut the machine off when nothing was 'on,' as Dean put it.

Instead, the angel turned his attention to his thoughts. He'd been trying to emulate a behavior that Dean expected and had managed to only truly slip up a few times. His memories were shattered and scattered, truth and falsehood mixed together in a frustrating mess of confusion and panic. He frowned and felt his vessel's face pull and twist to the expression. There was once another soul in this vessel, a young and faithful boy named Jimmy Novak. He must have been lost when Castiel returned to Heaven. Dean had explained Castiel's reasoning for returning, but it completely conflicted with what Michael had told him and Castiel himself had no memories of leaving or coming back to Heaven, those particular parts of his memory bleached completely clean. He did, however, remember bits of his life on Earth. A stubborn man that resembled Dean, another, wiser, man offering their home to them, sitting on an old couch with a much younger Dean and Gabriel, masked partially by his human vessel. But then he also remembered darker snatches of his time on Earth, Gabriel dragging him, kicking and screaming from the hold of Heaven, the man resembling Dean Winchester yelling at Castiel, suspicious glances from the other man, blood on the floor.

Castiel shook his head, pinching his nose. Lowering his fingers once the flashes of images had passed, he took a few deep breaths and moved into a meditative state. The angel figured if he continued to concentrate, he may be able to sort truth from fiction. It was imperative to him to remember Dean. The human was important to him, in some unfathomable way. Far more precious than anything Castiel had ever seen or touched.

When he was shaken out of this state a great amount of time later, Dean was kneeling in front of him. The human looked worried.

"What is it, Dean?" Castiel asked. Dean let out a long sigh.

"You scared me." he said, though there wasn't any venom in his voice, just concern. "I've been trying to talk to you for ten minutes."

"My apologies." Castiel replied. He shook himself and focused more on Dean. "What was it you needed?"

Dean's brows furrowed and his mouth slid into a worried, little frown. "I wanted to know if you wanted any breakfast." he finally said. Castiel shook his head. To the angel's dismay, Dean's worried frown got larger.

"Dean, I do not need to eat." Castiel assured. Humans were truly strange. If he did not need to eat, why was Dean insistent on him doing so?

"If you say so, Cas." Dean muttered, standing from his kneeling position. "If you change your mind, let me know in the next hour or so."

"I will." Castiel assured. He picked up the remote and flipped to the channel he'd learned was the news. It wasn't particularly interesting. Michael had told him humans were violent, the news only reinforced this concept. Castiel knew from his short time with Dean, that humans were spontaneous and volatile, nearly impossible to predict. No wonder he was so concerned about The Plan. Controlling these humans would be much like flying through a violent gale, all twisting turns, delicate maneuvers and extreme force. Perhaps that was the point. One wasn't supposed to fly through a gale if they could help it, the same could be said about controlling a human.

Dean rustled Castiel out of his thoughts yet again as he sat on the couch. "So, some rules for while I'm gone." Dean said around a mouthful of eggs. "Anything in the kitchen is fair game, help yourself, just don't drink all my beer." he began. Castiel nodded. This was fair and he didn't think it would help much if he brought up the fact that he did not need to eat or drink again. "Don't open the door for anyone." Dean said seriously. "I don't care if you recognize the person on the other side of the door, you're safe here and I want you to keep the door closed." Castiel once again nodded. He had no intention of leaving, leaving meant returning to Michael. Never. "Don't answer the phone either. Bobby will call my phone if it's important and Dad won't react great if he hears someone who isn't me answering my phone… especially if they're a dude." The human took another bite of eggs, seemingly thinking of anymore rules. "Uh… I think everything else is fine… maybe don't hang out by the windows." he finally finished. "Got it?" he asked.

"Yes, Dean." Castiel replied, nodding again for good measure. "I should not open the door, answer the phone, or spend an extended amount of time near the windows, lest I risk discovery." he repeated dutifully.

"Yup, you got it." Dean stood with his plate, sparing a hand to clap Cas on the shoulder. The human had seemed to have made a habit of it. Castiel didn't particularly mind. "I gotta go shower and then I have to leave, so if you think of anything you need, let me know."

"Yes." Castiel agreed, watching Dean leave the kitchen, disappear into his room to grab a change of clothing and then disappear into the shower. Castiel turned his attention back to the television. It had moved on to a segment about people in the city who had grown especially old.

Dean was nervous about leaving Castiel alone in the apartment, but after a bit of indignant encouragement from Castiel, he was finally out the door. "Bye, Cas! I'll be back around six." he called before he locked the door behind him.

Work was slow that day, which was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it wasn't a problem that Dean was incredibly preoccupied with thoughts of Castiel back home. On the other hand, Dean could afford to be distracted, which meant all Dean thought, or rather, worried about was Castiel back at home. Was the angel bored? Would he get hungry or thirsty? What if someone broke in? And the most pressing question; what if Castiel left? These questions kept so much of Dean's attention, that he didn't notice when Jess and Sam entered the shop. Fortunately, Dean could blame it on having his head and both arms buried in the engine of a particularly sorry looking pickup truck. Unfortunately, that also meant that he banged his head on the hood of the truck when Sam gently touched his shoulder.

"Shit! Ow!" Dean yelped, as he extracted his head out from under the hood, a bit more slowly and carefully this time. Sam was looking at him with his face twisted up in something Dean liked to call his 'bitch face' and Jess liked to call cute. What was cute about duck lips and narrowed eyes, Dean would never know, but he wasn't about to argue with a woman like Jessica Moore.

"You ready?" Sam finally asked. Dean looked down at his grease streaked arms and shook his head, shooting Sam an exasperated look.

"Give me a minute to…" he gestured at his arms. "wipe this off. Unless you want grease all over the interior of your car."

Sam grimaced and acquiesced, obviously not too eager to have a dirty Dean in his van. Dean disappeared into the staff bathroom and lathered soap up his arms to, hopefully, remove the stains. In retrospect, he probably should have been more careful about how messy he was getting, but hindsight was 20/20. He shrugged silently to himself before rinsing the now black bubbles off his arms and watching them swirl down the sink. He examined his arms and found that he had gotten the very worst of it off and decided that was good enough before returning to Sam and Jess, still hovering near the pickup truck.

"Well? Let's go." Dean prompted, ignoring Sam's disapproving glare as he casually waltzed out of their shop and to Sam's hideous, powder blue minivan. Why a college kid needed a minivan, Dean would never know, but Sam had insisted and Dean couldn't tell him no. He had to work on that.

The drive to the restaurant wasn't a long one, only about ten minutes, with some sort of country music playing in the background. The drive was eerily silent, only broken intermittently by Jess asking Dean about his day. It was obvious the two lovebirds were nervous about something and needless to say, it was a relief to get out of the car.

The restaurant itself was ritzy, and Dean felt a little bad about not washing his arms off a little better and maybe changing his shirt. Jessica hadn't said anything though, and she didn't look the slightest bit put off now, so Dean just shrugged off his nervousness. If only Sam could, the kid was tense and his jaw was clenched, like he was getting ready to rob the place rather than sit down to eat. They did, not rob the place, but be seated and have ice water poured for them into little champagne glasses and Dean had to resist the urge to both roll his eyes and chug the water. He might like to tease Sammy and give him a hard time, but whatever the reason for this fancy lunch, it was obviously important to Sam and Dean wasn't about to ruin it.

The big moose in question waited until they had ordered their food and were eating before he spoke. "So…" he began. Then he promptly stuffed a large piece of steak in his mouth and made a show of chewing. Jess elbowed him a moment later and Sam swallowed with a cough. "So, we're… we're uh…"

Jess cut him off impatiently. "We're getting married." she said, flashing Dean a modest, but beautiful diamond ring on her left hand.

Dean took a moment to swallow, then leveled a look at both of them. "'Bout time." he said evenly. Sam flushed scarlet and Jess laughed. "When were you thinking of having the wedding?"

"Oh… uh… probably June. We need time to plan stuff." Sam answered, still scarlet, but less nervous. His shoulders had relaxed a bit and his brow was no longer wrinkled up in a way that made him look constipated.

"You… uh…" It was Dean's turn to falter a bit. He knew how touchy the subject would be for Sam. "You want Dad to come?"

Once again, Jess interjected. "Yes. We'd love for him to come. Him and your uncle… what was his name…?" she prompted, quickly switching the subject away from deadbeat dads. Dean just had to love Jess.

"Bobby." Sam answered, giving her a small smile. "Yeah, we'd like both of them to come. And anyone you wanted to invite."

"Like, who, Sam? My boss? I'm sure he'd be flattered, but…" Dean trailed off.

"No, no!" Sam said. "That… That short guy. He was at your graduation and my graduation and waited with us when you broke your arm that one time."

Dean nearly spat his food. "O-oh. That guy… I'll ask him." Dean didn't even know how to contact Gabriel, let alone if he'd want to go to Sam's wedding. He might just show up even without Dean asking.

"Where do you know him from, anyway?" Sam asked conversationally. Apparently wedding planning time was over and it was interrogate Dean time again.

"He's an old friend of Dad's." Dean said flippantly. Sam looked at him disbelievingly. "What?! It's true! He's bailed Dad out of a lot of tight spots! He even changed your diaper when you were a baby a few times!"

"Dean!" Sam scolded, seemingly embarrassed. Whether it was the diaper comment or the fact that Dean mentioned Dad getting into 'tight spots' when they were younger, Dean didn't know. He sighed and they ate for a bit longer before Sam spoke again. "Right. You said you had an announcement too?"

Dean winced. "Yeah." he said simply, pushing a bit of the mixed vegetables on his plate around.

Sam rose an eyebrow. "And…?" he asked impatiently.

"I have a new roommate." Dean finally said after a bit of thought. It wasn't far from the truth.

"What's her name?" Sam asked, giving him a knowing smile.

"His name, you mean." Dean corrected, looking scandalized when Sam's eyes widened in surprise. He had to supress a sigh when Jess didn't look the least bit surprised, albeit a little amused."Look, I know what you're thinking and he ain't that kind of roommate. He just needed a place to crash."

"Right." Sam said, drawing the word out. "What's his name?" he asked, thankfully dropping the subject of the nature of Dean and his new roommate's relationship.

"Castiel." Dean answered.

"That's… religious." Sam said in surprise.

"What's he like?" Jess asked, leaning in, very interested.

"He's… um…weird." Dean settled on.

"Weird?" Jess questioned, eyes widening.

"Yeah, he talks a little weird and he stares off into space and trying to pull him out of it is like pulling teeth." Dean elaborated. "He really likes movies though and he knows a lot." the last thing, Dean pulled from his own memories. Castiel was incredibly knowledgeable.

"He sounds nice." Jess said. That small smile was back on her face and it made Dean nervous. "When do we get to meet him?" she asked. And there it was, the question Dean had hoped they wouldn't ask.

"I dunno…" he said, feigning thoughtfulness. "He just moved in and I don't wanna overwhelm him." he said. It sounded like a good excuse.

"So not yet, then." Jess summarized. "Maybe in a few weeks? After he's settled?" she asked hopefully. And how could Dean say no to that?

"Yeah, I'll ask him, but sure." Dean said, smiling back.

Lunch probably would have gone on for much longer if Dean's lunch break hadn't been timed. They finished up and Dean paid for the meal because Sam might have invited him, but Dean wasn't about to let his poor college kid of a brother buy him lunch. Dean knew deep down that Sam wasn't actually poor, he was quite well off with all kinds of scholarships making sure he had a comfortable college experience, but Dean still liked playing big brother sometimes.

The lunch and its announcements took Dean's attention away from Castiel for an hour or so, but directly after he was back to worrying. He nearly bolted out of the shop when his manager declared it closing time and may have taken a few shortcuts on the drive home, as well as broke a few speed limits. It didn't matter, Dean had to make sure Cas was still there. He didn't think he could handle having Cas back only for the angel to disappear again. He jogged up the stairs, taking two at a time and bust open the door to find Castiel reading quietly one his couch. The angel looked up curiously as he entered and set the book on the table. Dean noticed the angel didn't bother marking his place.

"Good evening, Dean. Welcome back." Castiel greeted. He remained seated on the couch. Dean couldn't explain why he expected a hug from the angel.

Instead, he opted to deliver the news to Castiel. "Sammy's getting married." he said. He sounded more surprised himself, despite already knowing this fact. To his even greater surprise, a smile made its way onto Castiel's face, the angel's eyes lighting up.

"That is good." Castiel said.

"Do you… you know… remember anything?" Dean asked hopefully.

"A small amount more than before. I know why I left you now and I am glad to see that you and Sam are living happy lives." he explained, looking down thoughtfully. "I also still have this." he produced a small, badly folded and crumpled photograph from his pocket. It was an old Winchester Family photo, Dean thought John had just lost it years ago in one of their seedy motels.

"Where did you find it?" Dean asked as Castiel handed him the photograph. Dean barely touched it. It was so breakable and so precious. For the first time in nineteen years, he could see his mother smiling at him, even if it was just in a faded photograph.

"If memory serves, under a sofa in your old home." Castiel said. He still hadn't looked up at Dean, but his body language had gone from thoughtful to bashful. "I was going through my vessel's personal effects, and I thought you should have it." he explained.

This time, Dean really did hug Castiel, wrapped his arms around the angel's shoulders and buried his face in the angel's neck. "Thanks, Cas."

* * *

**TBC...**


	6. Brother Quarrel

**A/N: Goodness Gracious this is late and I'm very sorry. I got very busy for a few weeks preparing for school. School has now started and I hope I can start posting a little more regularly now that I have classes (that's where I write best, you see).**

**Admittedly****, this chapter is a bit... domestic... but things will pick up soon. Enjoy the pseudo-living together relationship while you can...**

**Regardless of it's lateness, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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The next day, when Dean left for work and the photograph was flattened out and framed, despite its deplorable state, Castiel found himself staring at it for a good portion of his day, his eyes always wondering back to it no matter what he was doing. He had remembered a little bit more, he remembered his mission, but things were still fuzzy. The photograph helped sharpen the image in his head. It reminded him what Dean's face looked like before it had become hard and angular with age and what John had looked like and that Sammy had been so small, even compared to Dean and himself.

When Castiel wasn't staring at the photograph or thinking, he was reading, watching movies or sneaking peaks through the windows, despite Dean's warnings. After about noon, Castiel became curious about how his own vessel had changed. He wondered into the bathroom and was met with a mirror, where he came face to face with Jimmy Novak for the first time in many years. It seemed, in all honesty, he had not changed too terribly much. His hair was still a mess, what Dean affectionately called a 'rat's nest,' and his eyes were still a bright, clear blue. Though they were missing the extra spark in addition to Castiel's presence and although he knew that Jimmy was somewhere safe and warm and happy, he still mourned for the soul. In addition to that change, Castiel's vessel, for it wasn't truly Jimmy Novak anymore, had fine, dark stubble coating his cheeks and his brow was much more defined along with his jaw. Humans truly were strange creatures.

When he returned from the bathroom, Dean had just returned home and was locking the door behind him. Castiel startled a bit.

"Good evening, Dean," he greeted kindly, if a bit stiffly. "You are home… early," he said.

"Worked through lunch," Dean replied, tossing his keys on the kitchen counter and making his way to the couch. He flopped down and sighed happily. "I'm beat," he said as Castiel settled beside him and flipped on the T.V. "I got a call from Gabriel, so I wanted to hurry home."

Castiel immediately tore his attention away from the television to regard Dean. "Gabriel?" he asked. It had been a long time since he had last seen Gabriel and with his newly recovered memories he was beginning to miss him. "Why did he call?" he asked curiously.

"He wanted to know how you were doing," Dean said. His attention was on the television, but he cast easy glances at Castiel when he spoke. "He also said he's gonna come visit tomorrow, after I get home from work."

Castiel's eyes lit up. He was going to get to see Gabriel again! Perhaps Gabriel would say it was safe for him to go with Dean to work, he hated the idea of the human being unprotected outside of the house. He voiced his thoughts to Dean and to his dismay, Dean laughed.

"Even if he says you can leave the house, I don't think you want to stay at my work all day," he warned. "It's fun for me, but it's boring to watch," he said.

"I'm sure I would find it interesting," Castiel insisted stubbornly. "I have never seen one work on automobiles before."

Dean blinked at the angel in surprise when Castiel insisted. "Alright, Cas," he acquiesced. "If Gabriel says it's okay, then you can come and watch." His tone was a bit fonder now, and he had a small smile.

"I look forward to it," Castiel said, before he settled back down to watch whatever show Dean had deemed worthy of his attention.

The night passed relatively uneventfully. Dean introduced Castiel to several other movies, all of which the angel watched with rapt attention. Dean ate dinner and offered pieces of it to Castiel, who for the most part accepted them, but still gave the human indignant looks. At a quarter past eleven, Dean retired for the night, leaving Castiel to his own devices.

Once more he was drawn to the windows, sitting just at the edge as to avoid being in the line of sight. As far as he could sense, none of his brethren were around the area anyway, so he settled down and watched as cars drove by under the window and the occasional person walked by. After a few hours, he wandered away from the window and sat on the couch, deciding to meditate again.

Dean rose with the sun, showering and dressing before coming out into the living room to greet Castiel. Castiel pulled himself out of his meditative state, greeted Dean and watched as Dean made breakfast. The angel was so involved in watching the eggs in the pan sizzle that he didn't notice Dean was handing him something until it was literally under his nose. It was a mug, filled with a dark, hot liquid that had a rich and earthy aroma to it. Curious, Castiel accepted the drink and after the first tentative sip, gulped the mug down in less than a minute. Dean winced, and Castiel supposed that was an appropriate reaction, but the heat didn't bother him.

"So you like coffee?" Dean asked, sitting down with his plate of eggs and bacon. He was smiling, ever so slightly.

"It has a very complex taste," Castiel said, by way of explanation. "I like it very much."

Dean laughed at that and sipped at his own mug before offering to get Castiel more. Between the two of them, they emptied two pots worth before it was time for Dean to go to work.

"I'll try to get home early again, so Gabriel can get here sooner," he said as he wrestled his boots on. He grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter before heading out the door, shouting "See you later, Cas!" as the door slid shut behind him.

Despite being a creature older than time itself and having experienced many hours, days, weeks and months of being idle, the day still passed unbearably slowly to Castiel. He watched pigeons fly around outside, flipped through television channels, read three more books of Dean's, but even after doing all of these things, it was only late in the morning. He sighed and settled onto the couch with another movie, wishing Dean had taught him how to brew coffee before he had left.

At one thirty in the afternoon, the phone began ringing. Castiel didn't have to ignore it long, as the device went silent after only four rings. Despite himself, Castiel walked over and examined it. He had used one of these before, he remembered, speaking on the phone to both John Winchester and Bobby Singer. It looked different now, however, instead of being curved and sitting speakers side down with a cord hooking it to the receiver, this one was square in shape, much like Dean's pocket phone, and sat right side up. He wanted to pick it up and examine it further, but resisted the urge. Dean had told him not to mess with it, so he would not.

He turned his attention to the rest of the apartment, checking the sigils, examining the cooking utensils Dean had left out, and he may have looked longingly at the coffee pot for a while before turning his attention to the cabinets. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, just curious, as he rifled through the cabinets, careful to put things back exactly where he'd found them.

At three thirty, about ten minutes after Castiel had settled onto the couch to wait for Dean, Dean came trudging in. He looked a tad shaken, but still forced a smile for the angel on his couch.

"Hey, Cas," he said, pulling his boots off and setting them near the door. "What's up?"

"What happened?" Castiel asked immediately. Dean's smile immediately slid off his face and he clenched his jaw. He looked worried.

"Bobby called," Dean said. Castiel looked at him expectantly. "It's probably nothing, Cas. Don't worry about it," he said evasively.

"Dean, I can tell you are worried," Castiel said, his tone firm. Dean made his way farther into the living room and dropped into the couch with a sigh.

"Yeah…" the human said. He fiddled with his hands nervously. "Dad… er… John hasn't called Bobby in a few days and isn't answering his phone," he told Castiel. "Like I said, it's probably nothing. He's done this kind of thing before, but…"

Castiel took over when he trailed off, catching on. "With the recent events, you are worried it may have something to do with my brothers," Castiel finished for the human.

Dean looked stricken with guilt, but relented. "Yeah, Cas," he said.

"I understand," Castiel assured. Dean looked a bit more relaxed at that and they sat in a companionable silence for a while, Dean winding down and Castiel just content to have another soul with him. Then there was a knock at the door. Dean got up, Castiel trailing behind cautiously as he checked the door and unlocked it, slowly pulling the door open to reveal Gabriel.

"Hey!" the Archangel greeted, inviting himself inside. "I see you two are getting along."

"Hey, Gabriel," Dean replied, pulling the door closed behind him and locking it again. "You took your sweet time," he said bitterly.

"This is a delicate operation," Gabriel snapped flippantly. "I had to lay low for a while." He grinned when his eyes landed on Castiel, tarrying a little behind Dean. "Cas!" he exclaimed, striding over and pulling the other angel into a hug. Castiel didn't reciprocate and let his arms hang limply at his sides while Gabriel squeezed him around his middle. He distinctly remembered Gabriel being taller than him at some point, clearly it wasn't the case anymore.

"Hello, Gabriel," he said, wisely choosing not to comment on the, now significant, height difference. "I have something I want to ask you."

Gabriel released him and huffed. "Right down to business," he muttered unhappily.

"Dean's father, John Winchester, are our brothers responsible for his lack of communication?" Castiel asked seriously, keeping his eyes on Gabriel's face.

"Cas—" Dean made to interrupt, but Gabriel beat him to it.

"I haven't heard from Balthazar, so I don't think so. He's practically Michael's right hand man, if you don't count Raphael, so he'd be the first to know," Gabriel said. "This isn't the first time John's done this. Relax," he told Castiel seriously.

"That's what I told him!" Dean said indignantly, glaring at Castiel. "He does it all the damn time." This obviously came out a bit louder and more bitter than he intended, as he suddenly tensed his shoulder and clenched his jaw. He seemed to be containing anger.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Castiel said earnestly, trying to assuage the human. "I wasn't aware."

Dean sighed. "It's fine, Cas," he said. "I'm not mad at you." He turned his attention to Gabriel, who had pulled a candy bar from seemingly nowhere and was now eating it unashamedly. "Cas had another question he wanted to ask," he prompted, diverting the subject.

"Yeah?" Gabriel asked with a full mouth. He turned to Castiel with an eyebrow quirked.

"I want to go to work with Dean," Castiel said. "Would that be… okay?" he asked, looking unsure of himself.

Gabriel grinned and swallowed. "It's Bring Your Angel to Work Day already?" he joked. Castiel merely cocked his head in confusion.

"I wasn't aware that was a holiday," Castiel said, furrowing his brow seriously. Dean moved to say something again, but Gabriel waved him off.

"Nah, Cas, it was a joke," he said, patting the other angel on the shoulder. "And yeah, you can go. I'll have to reapply the concealing sigils though," Gabriel said. "I need to that to Dean too."

Castiel nodded seriously in understanding. Once the sigils were applied, his brothers would no longer be able to track him. "Do it now," he requested. He liked Dean's apartment, but was getting restless and he didn't like the idea of Dean being alone.

"Alright, alright," Gabriel sighed, finishing his candy and stuffing the wrapper into his pocket. "That's actually the whole reason I wanted to come see you anyway," he muttered petulantly. After wiping his hands on his pants, he marched straight up to Cas and pushed a hand over his ribs as Dean watched on in confusion. After a moment he pulled away and approached Dean. "This is going to hurt," he warned.

Dean couldn't imagine it hurt that much, Cas had barely flinched, but then Gabriel's hand was pressing into his ribs and then everything _burned. _"Holy shit!" pushed its way out of Dean's lips along with all the air in his lungs. "Son of a bitch, that hurt!" he said when Gabriel had removed his hand, smirking. Dean pointedly ignored Castiel's disapproving glare at his use of language.

"Told you!" Gabriel sing-songed. Castiel's glare moved to Gabriel. He didn't look particularly happy that the archangel had caused Dean pain. "Don't look at me like that, I warned him!"

"You shouldn't get enjoyment out of it," Castiel scolded.

Gabriel looked regretful for all of seven seconds before he chuckled. "His reaction was a little funny, though."

"No," Castiel replied simply with a frown.

"Spoil sport," Gabriel bit, pointing a finger at the angel. "You have even more of a stick up your ass than you did when you were younger!"

Castiel looked appalled. "I do not-"

"So that's it," Dean interrupted the two. "He can come to work with me now?"

"Yup!" Gabriel said, clapping his hands. Castiel was still fuming, but perked a bit at the news. "He can go do whatever his little heart pleases, as long as it's not going back to Heaven," he assured, but looked pointedly at Castiel during the last half of his sentence.

"I do not plan to return any time soon." Castiel said determinedly.

"Good. Then my work here is done," Gabriel said. "I'll keep you updated on dear old dad, Deano," he said, patting Dean on the back on his way to the door. "Castiel , keep him from going off and doing something stupid. Dean, you do the same thing," he requested, then as soon as both his feet were over the threshold of the door, he was gone.

* * *

**TBC...**


End file.
